Nutritional Status of Elderly in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria

Influence of residential characteristics on the association between the oral health status and BMI of older adults in Indonesia

OBJECTIVE

To assess the possible effects of residential characteristics on the association between oral hygiene and body mass index (BMI) of elderly people in Indonesia.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study involved 186 participants (87 males, 99 females) aged ≥60 years who were randomly recruited from 8 community health stations for the elderly people. Dentition status, oral hygiene index (OHI), probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) were assessed in accordance with WHO guidelines. Salivary condition was assessed through the unstimulated whole saliva collection method. Education status and oral health behaviours were evaluated using a standardised questionnaire. BMI was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Participants were grouped in accordance with their OHI status (poor, moderate or good) combined with their residential characteristic (rural or urban) to assess the independent effect of OHI and residential characteristic on BMI through linear regression analysis with confounder adjustment.

RESULTS

In the crude model of linear regression analysis, the poor OHI group is associated with low BMI regardless of their residential characteristic (rural/urban) when compared to the "good OHI, urban" group with P-values of .045 and <.01 and regression coefficients (β) of -2.1 and -4.5, respectively. However, in the adjusted model, only the "poor OHI, rural" group showed a significant association with low BMI when compared to the "good OHI, urban" group (β = -3.4; P < .01).

CONCLUSION

Low BMI is significantly associated with poor OHI and rural residential characteristic among elderly people in Indonesia.

Correlation between body mass index and waist circumference in nigerian adults: implication as indicators of health status

BACKGROUND

Anthropometric measures have been widely used for body weight classification in humans. Waist circumference has been advanced as a useful parameter for measuring adiposity. This study evaluated the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference and examined their significance as indicators of health status in adults.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The subject included 489 healthy adults from Ota, Nigeria, aged between 20 and 75 years, grouped into early adulthood (20-39 years), middle adulthood (40-59 years) and advanced adulthood (60 years and above). Weight, height and abdominal circumference were measured. BMI was calculated as weight kg/height2 (m2) and World Health Organization cut-offs were used to categorize them into normal, underweight, overweight and obese.

RESULTS

Abnormal weight categories accounted for 60 % of the subjects (underweight 11 %, overweight 31%, and obese 18%). The waist circumference of overweight and obese categories were significantly (P<0.05) higher than the normal weight category. There was no significant difference between waist circumference of underweight and normal subjects. The correlation coefficient values of BMI with waist circumference (r=0.63), body weight (r=0.76) and height (r=-0.31) were significant (P<0.01) for the total subjects.

CONCLUSIONS

The study indicates that waist circumference can serve as a positive indicator of overweight and obesity in the selected communities; however, it may not be used to determine underweight in adults. Regular BMI and waist circumference screening is recommended as an easy and effective means of assessing body weight and in the prevention of weight related diseases in adults. Significance for public healthThis manuscript describes the correlation between body mass index, waist circumference and body weight of two communities in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria and the use of these anthropometric measures for body weight classification in human populations of the selected communities. This was carried out to evaluate the health status of the indigenes of the two communities for proper health awareness and public health intervention programmes.